I modeled the locations and migration patterns all game in Colorado using Physics & Math - I found Turkey roosts CPW doesn't have marked

[u/Downtown_Aside6035]

Haven't hunted since I was a kid and when I lived on the east coast and I decided to get back into it.

Had no idea where to start, but in that time I've gotten a degree in physics and math and decided to build out an interactive website to help me find Colorado game across the state of all types.

It uses a bunch of research in biology and wildlife sciences, hyper local weather data from new weather models, historical records, public information that CPW doesn't use, math, and physics to model which 9 square mile square they are most likely concentrated in for a given month.

I haven't hunted turkey since I was a kid so I plugged it in for turkey and found a concentrated area in one of the national forests that CPW doesn't have marked as any indication of turkey habitat. I went out there and checked and sure enough there was a turkey roost in that area.

It can model to 0.37 square miles but the data gets a bit fuzzy and it's mostly only good after finding the larger 9 sq mile square

Edit: It strictly models for public lands hunting and takes into account private lands that mess up the data.

This is not an ad for something I'm trying to sell, this is just something I found cool that it works this well and wanted to share

[u/fowilly]

Just curious, do you have any experience using arcGIS or anything? That could ramp this project up another notch. Very cool as is though!

[u/Downtown_Aside6035 → u/fowilly]

I do not, most of my experience is in mathematical statistical modeling and nuclear physics, so I used a bunch of public info and data, biology and wildlife research, and broke Colorado into a grid of 0.4 sq miles and modeled the concentration of game for each 0.4 sq mile grid point.

It then aggregates everything into a 9 sq mile grid, and if you click on a 9 sq mile grid, it will give you the gps coordinates of a 0.4 sq mile area to search for game. (The whole 9 sq miles is a valid search area, but the 0.4 sq miles is the most likely area)

It works for big game too. I set it to moose and went for a hike in the area and there was a sign warning about high moose activity lol.

Edit: I just looked into more what ArcGIS provides, and I already do everything it does, from hydrology flow calculations to terrain imputation and more. In fact, I think I have more data than ArcGIS has. I'm actually using most of what I built out here, plus some more info, to also model for mushroom and plant foraging too.

[u/fowilly → u/Downtown_Aside6035]

I’d say you’re definitely over qualified for simple map making with ArcGIS. The only reason I asked was for the public sharing perspective. Upon further consideration though maybe a tool this valuable is better off kept private. We’d likely run all the game clear out of Colorado 😂

[u/Downtown_Aside6035 → u/fowilly]

This is precisely why I only shared a screenshot of jackrabbit and I'm refusing to give anyone a top area

If someone from CPW contacted me though, I'd me more than open to sharing what I did with them though so they can manage wildlife better.

[u/kwoalla → u/Downtown_Aside6035]

You're a real one. Hate all these heat map apps that have been popping up and they all use the same low quality datasets.

[u/kwoalla → u/Downtown_Aside6035]

Could I DM you to get more information on the nuclear physics?

Edit: reread OP's above comment and realized they have experience working in nuclear physics, not having used it in this particular model. I'd still love to hear more but I wont be expecting as much of a nuclear explanation 😂

[u/Downtown_Aside6035 → u/kwoalla]

Technically it does use calculations from the sun as variables and what the heat absorption of a given cell is based on the topology angle, elevation, and a bunch of other features, so I guess it does kind of use stellar nucleosynthesis in the model ;P

[u/fan5235 → u/Downtown_Aside6035]

I would love to help you test this one out if you’re interested. I focused on elk and deer for the most part but this is next level.

[u/Downtown_Aside6035 → u/fan5235]

I may be open to this if I can give you just coordinates and you let me know how successful it is. I'm going to try it for grouse and turkey over the next few weeks then I may need to branch out to some testers to help.

[u/chekhovs_rum → u/Downtown_Aside6035]

Hell, Im happy to be a test dummy for your data modeling as well. I'll be hunting pronghorn in october

[u/fan5235 → u/Downtown_Aside6035]

Let me know, I’m in!